About the speaker
Cheung Yuk Fung began learning Teochew opera and performing as a singer at the age of twelve, and began appearing on stage alongside her father at nineteen. In 1976, she joined the founder, Mr Chan, and his family in establishing the Hong Kong Yuk Lee Chun Chiu Chow Puppet Troupe. Now in her eighties, she remains deeply committed to preserving the troupe’s stage tradition. Her daughter, Chan Yuk Wai Bee, began performing with the family troupe in 1985, initially taking supporting roles such as maidservants and soldiers before learning to manipulate iron-rod puppets and helping with the family troupe’s backstage operations. Since 2024, Chan has helped her mother manage the troupe while developing puppetry workshops and school programmes. Together, mother and daughter continue a family legacy rooted in Teochew opera, ritual performance and iron-rod puppetry, bringing these traditions into contemporary community and educational settings and creating opportunities for a new generation to encounter, understand, and carry them forward.
About the organisation
Hong Kong Yuk Lee Chun Chiu Chow Puppet Troupe
The Hong Kong Yuk Lee Chun Chiu Chow Puppet Troupe was founded in 1976 by the late Mr. Chan. He was active in Teochew opera for many years and was experienced in all aspects of theatrical production, from makeup, acting, and music to backstage work. He devoted himself wholeheartedly to the running and development of the troupe until his death in 2009. His wife, Cheung Yuk Fung, then took over the troupe, with the support of their daughter, Chan Yuk Wai Bee, and other family members, carrying on the family tradition. Today, the family continues to work alongside Teochew artists in Hong Kong, performing Teochew opera and iron-rod puppetry. The troupe participated in the 2022 Hong Kong Teochew Festival in Wan Chai. In 2024, it launched its first iron-rod puppetry class and introduced the art form into schools. In 2026, the troupe was invited to conduct a three-day workshop at the Hong Kong Yu Lan Culture Festival (Hungry Ghost Festival). The troupe also helps receive and coordinate visiting troupes during the seventh lunar month. In recent years, it has continued to refine its teaching materials and develop community programmes, gradually expanding its efforts to sustain and promote iron-rod puppetry in Hong Kong.
